Florida Evacuee Gives Birth in Sumter During Irma

SUMTER, SC (WOLO)- A couple who left Fort Myers Florida looking to escape hurricane Irma, ended up giving birth as the storm pushed through the Midlands.

Just after midnight Friday morning, Stefanie and Preston Kight of Fort Myers, Florida, with their 13-month-old son, Keller, and two dogs began, what they thought would be a nine-hour trip to Sumter to escape Hurricane Irma’s landfall. It took them 13 hours instead. Stefanie, 39 weeks pregnant at the time, had only one thing going through her mind the entire drive: “When are we going to get there?”

Her greatest fear was being stuck on the side of the road and going into labor in the heavy evacuation traffic.

“I was hoping that he wasn’t going to come while we were on our way,” KStephanie said.

The couple made it to Palmetto Health Tuomey. A place, 3 years ago they lost their first child.

“We believed that wasn’t the time for us and the time was coming,” Stephanie said.

While mother nature moved Irma into the Midlands Stephanie was giving birth to her son Calden.

“The Hurricane was always in the back of my mind,” Stephanie said. How was our house going to be in Florida, will we have something to take him back to, because it looked like it was going to hit us head on. All of that kind of went out of my mind and I focused on the good in all of this.”

Her focus on her family.

“We’re believers, and we believe there is a plan, and this wasn’t how we planned it, but this was how it was supposed to go,” Stephanie said. “We have two beautiful boys to show for that.”

Stephanie and the two little ones will be headed back to Florida as soon as their power is restored.